ELEMENTAL GOLF: Tough conditions challenge local golf teams at JPI as Glynn finishes 2nd

Mar. 8—It was a grueling day at Jekyll Island Golf Club for the teams competing in the annual Johnny Paulk Invitational as the rain, cold, and wind kept the golfers on their toes.

Lambert won the event with an overall score of 295. Glynn Academy took home second place with a 306 total, and Frederica Academy finish fifth with a 314.

Richmond Academy and Wayne County took home third place as they both posted a 307.

Brunswick didn't have the best showing, but two of its golfers hung in tough with the field and showed promise.

Leading the Terrors was Grady Sanders with a 74.

"Grady's got a good all-around game. He's good with driving, good with his irons, and he's really good with his short game," said Glynn's coach Mike Zito. "He's only a sophomore, and he's got a lot of room to grow, so that's the biggest thing when you got a good all-around game, then it makes the game easier."

Glynn also had Trey Pralinski shoot a 75, Maddox Stroud carded 76, and Shep Davenport totaled a 77. That rounded out the scores added to the final tally resulting in their second-place finish. Williamson Mosher shot an 81, Chris Rodini shot 84 and Ellis long finished with an 87. Joe Carter shot 74 but was on Glynn's B list for the tournament so that they couldn't add his scores to the overall total.

"That's the type of golfers we got," Zito said. "I could probably put any five, six guys in there, and they're all that kind of close. We're just trying to figure things out right now — we're looking to see who's going to be the most consistent. As we get to the end of the year, we'll have our top six for state.

"They played well, it was tough conditions, and we're very happy with the score. We could have saved some shots — of course, everybody could have said that, too. It is what it is. The bottom line is we got a bunch of really good players this year with good work ethic, and they're very coachable and teachable. I'm really happy with what we got so far. We're just going to keep grinding it out and keep getting better."

With those harsh conditions, Zito said he preached that consistency and keeping the ball in play were two things he wanted his guys to accomplish.

"When you're in conditions like that, and I tell them that par is good. You're looking to keep the ball in play, and par is good — even on some holes, bogey was good," Zito said. "That's the biggest thing is not to make any big mistakes. You can always come back from a bogey, but when you're making doubles and triples, you have to make a bunch of birdies to cover that up. We're looking for consistency."

For the Knights, freshman Aarnav Nath led the team with a 75. Rounding out the rest of Frederica's scores was Roy Boyd with a 78, Thomas Henderson 80, Travis Cavalier 81 and Cason Cavalier 82.

While coach Tom Willis said it was a tough day for scoring, he felt like his guys struggled.

"Aarnav was one bright spot, keeping it together for most of the day with a couple of birdies, including a nice 15 footer on 11 and a good save on the 18th for bogey," Willis said. "He has been really consistent for us so far. The next thing for him is to shoot a really low round. I think it's coming soon."